Tag: rating: a minus

MAC RiRi Woo Lipstick ($15.00 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “matte cool red [with a retro matte finish].” It’s a deep, medium-dark red with strong cool undertones and a matte finish. MAC Ruby Woo is absolutely similar–it’s very, very similar. RiRi Woo is inspired by Ruby Woo, but the difference is very slight–there’s a noticeable difference in darkness and undertone when the two are swatched side-by-side, but applied, it is incredibly difficult to tell.

The retro matte finish is drier and stiff; it’s the type of texture that I think you can apply best with a lip brush, because it allows you better control and precision. Because it can be stiff, it will tug/pull on the lip while you’re applying it, which means you may use too much force and it will easily jag outside the lip. The color is incredibly pigmented, though; one swipe and you will see fully opaque color coverage. RiRi Woo has Rihanna’s signature etched around the side of the lipstick itself, but there was nothing on the packaging or exterior packaging. The color is a classic, retro red with cool undertones, but if you have Ruby Woo, RiRi Woo will feel redundant. This just arrived about an hour ago, so I haven’t worn it for long, but so far it feels much like Ruby Woo, so I would expect six to eight hours of wear, some staining, and possibly be slightly drying over time.

P.S. — Watch for a giveaway of RiRi Woo soon! I purchased mine, but I received a press sample this morning, so I’ll be giving away the one I purchased here on the blog.

It had fairly good color payoff in a single stroke, and it is buildable to mostly opaque color. I found that it looked somewhat patchy applied, though, so it would work better as a base or sheered out with a fluffy brush or finger tip (the warmth from your finger will help keep the product more emollient and movable). The consistency was a little on the dry side, though it didn’t tug, but I think this contributed to the unevenness during application. Mushroom lasted for ten hours without fading or creasing, which is an upside!

MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencils ($21.00 for 0.055 oz.) are a new product being launched in the collection. The new formula will be available in four shades: Copper Strip (frosty mid-tone copper), Life’s Luxury (deep bronze brown), Polished Jet (charcoal with pearl), and Rich Glance (light gold).

The first thing I noticed was these seemed small; smaller in overall size compared to other jumbo eyeshadow pencils, but the weight is only 0.055 oz. To put this in perspective, consider these competing brands’ jumbo pencils: Make Up For Ever at 0.14 oz., NARS at 0.14 oz., Urban Decay at 0.10 oz., and Clinique at 0.10 oz. It’s only slightly more than your average eyeliner pencil (which is usually 0.04 oz.)–and MAC is more expensive, by the ounce, than all of those brands but even just ignoring the size, only NARS’ is more expensive ($24).

I wore all four shades yesterday, and they lasted for eleven hours without creasing. There was some very slight fading, but it was minimal and all four shades looked mostly intact. These set nearly instantly, which makes them harder to blend together. I recommend working very quickly if you use multiple shades and one eye at a time. I ended up “blending” by lightly stippling color over the shade next to it and using the pencil’s tip to sort of blend the two together, because most of the brushes I tried weren’t getting the job done. As far as brushes went, NARS’ Small Dome Brush worked the best for blending. The formula is lightly creamy; each pencil glided across skin well and didn’t pull or tug, and there was a good amount of color payoff without having to go back and forth.

If you used this as a base or only one or two at a time, I think they’d be easier to use. I also tried using two shades as eyeliners, and they held up well–there was some slight thinning apparent after eight hours of wear but no migration or smudging. Lastly, these do require sharpening, so there will be some waste (which is certainly a bummer, given how little product there is!).

Hot Nights is very intense–it has amazingly rich color payoff! In a blush, this is excellent news for deeper skin tones, while it can be taken with less enthusiasm from those with very fair complexions. For fairer complexions, I recommend using a very light hand, a soft brush, preferably a stippling one. I applied this using MAC’s fan brush (184), and it was still quite intense even on my medium skin tone. Though rich in color, the texture itself was slightly dry, and I felt like trying to blend such a pigmented blush on my cheeks took a lot of doing. I ended up blending more foundation along the edges to soften them! Hot Nights wore for eight hours well, and after nine hours, it was beginning to fade.

MAC Bare My Soul Eyeshadow Quad ($44.00 for 0.19 oz.) includes these shades: Romantico (light taupe bronze, Veluxe Pearl), Bare My Soul (frosted gold, Lustre), Friendly (deep bronze chocolate, Veluxe Pearl), and When in Rio (deep green with copper pearl, Frost). The quad will be available online on May 16th and in-stores May 23rd (of course, it usually is online earlier than the stated date). It is packaged in a matte bronze with a rubbery texture–if you’re familiar with NARS’ packaging, it’s very much like that, only bronze in color.

Friendly is a rich, chocolatly brown with subtly warm undertones and a frosted sheen. It had fantastic color payoff, and it applied incredibly smoothly, too. Inglot #421 is slightly more coppery. Laura Mercier Cedar is more matte. MAC Make Your Mark is not quite as intense. MAC Mulch is redder.

When in Rio is a deep, red-brown base with a greenish-teal sheen. It had good color payoff when layered, but it was a little on the drier side and slightly stiff when I tried blending it out on the lid. It’s workable, but it’s not as nice as Romantico or Friendly. Wet ‘n’ Wild Comfort Zone #8 has a much redder base. bareMinerals Mirage is browner. MAC Double Feature #5 #2 is similar in design but much redder in practice. Tarte Exquisite Emerlad is similar though not as intense. MAC Woodsmoke is bluer. Inglot #414 is greener. MAC Club would also be similar, though I think the duochrome is not quite as obvious (and also Blue Brown pigment).

Initially, it reminded me of the Burmese Beauty quad from a few years ago, but they’re definitely not one-for-one. Burmese Beauty had a more golden, rather than copper-toned, shade, but it did have a similarly duochrome blue-brown shade (Burmese Beauty). The other two eyeshadows are not similar to the other two found in this quad.

I liked the quad overall, but at this price point, I really wish When in Rio was softer, more pigmented, and more blendable. In the world of MAC eyeshadow quads, this is certainly one of the better ones in the past few years. I wore all four eyeshadows together yesterday, and I didn’t have any issues with creasing or fading after nine hours of wear (no primer).

I’m definitely a fan of Urban Decay’s Shadow Pencils, as they are rather pigmented and wear well. Noise had fairly good color payoff in a single stroke, and it was buildable to mostly opaque color though I wasn’t able to get completely even color when all was said and done. The consistency was creamy enough to glide on without pulling or tugging but not so creamy that it creased before it had a chance to set. I did encounter some fall out from the silver sparkle while I wore the product, though I didn’t notice any until the fifth hour of wear. The color itself lasted ten hours without creasing or fading. After I removed it, my lid was stained a bit. If you tend to have reactions to red dyes, you may want to consider another shade.